Dump door mechanism



July 27, 1954 A. E. ZlMMER 2,684,643

DUMP DOOR MECHANISM Filed Jan 19,, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

A. E. ZIMMER DUMP DOOR MECHANISM July 27, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 19, 1950' INVENTOR. dZerfZZzmme; BY

July 27, 1954 A. E. ZlMMER DUMP DOOR MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 19. 1950 R m M m July 27, 1954 'A. E. ZIMMER 2,684,643

DUMP DOOR MECHANISM Filed Jan. 19, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN TOR.

BY I W M w Patented July 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved dump door mechanism having a bodily movable shaft adapted to be moved by a movement of rotation from a position beyond the free edge of the door to a supporting position beneath the door and vice versa.

This invention is by way of an improvement on the structure shown in United States Patent No 1,705,806 granted to Argyle Campbell March 19, 1929, and has for one of its objects the provision of a terminal link connection which will be adjustable in length to compensate for such twisting of the shaft as normally occurs in the operation of mechanisms of the identified type. In mechanisms of this type, it is customary to mount the shaft in elongated slots and connect a series of doors to the shaft whereby the connections are adapted to Wind on the shaft and raise the doors, the shaft thereafter moving beneath the doors by a combined sliding and rotary movement, serrated members being mounted on the doors and shaft respectively to provide for interengagement mainly for the purpose of withdrawing the shaft from beneath the doors by a partial rotation of the shaft. In order to insure the proper interengagement between the parts and prevent undue wear it is desirable that the respective serrations on the doors and shaft be in parallel relation throughout their range of interengagem-ent.

Owing to the severe torsional strain imposed upon theshaft during the operation of the doors, a twisting of the same occurs' This has a tendency to cause a lag in the travel of the end of the shaft remote from its operating end and thus s,

causes the serrations on the shaft in this region to be in non-parallel relation with the corresponding serrated surfaces of the door. It has been customary in the past to anticipate the twisting of the shaft by imparting an initial twist thereto in a direction opposite to that which might normally be expected in service and in a degree commensurate with the expected strains thereon. This pre-twisting of the shaft is an uncertain expedient inasmuch as the degree of twist desired is uncertain and varies with each individual application depending upon such variable factors as the tightness of the doors.

It is therefore another object of this invention to remedy this deficiency by providing a termina1 link connection for each flexible connection which will be adjustable in length and still function with the rigidity of a solid member.

. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of a car in which this invention is embodied;

Figure 2 is a vertical elevational side View of a portion of the car showing a plurality of doors and a common operating shaft;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through the car and showing the lower portion of substantially one half of the car with the door in closed position and the shaft approaching a position beneath the door;

Figure l is a view similar to Figure 3 showing one of the sets of interengaging members with the related winding drum and its associated flexible connection and link;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the outer portion of the door showing it and the connecting mechanism with the shaft moving into engagement with the door;

Figure 6 is a detail vertical view of the door bracket with my improved terminal link incorporated therein and showing the relationship of the shaft in the fully closed position;

Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the door bracket shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 88 of Figure '7, the link being omitted;

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 6 except that the terminal link is shown as positioned with the axis of the eyebolt lying on the pitch line of the teeth of the serrated Wheel and also indicated in shortened position in broken lines as adjusted to compensate for a twist in the shaft;

Figure 10 is an elevational side view on an enlarged scale of the link; and

Figure 11 is a plan view of the link shown in Figure 10.

In the drawings, the invention is illustrated as applied to a drop bottom car having a plurality of doors on each side of the center sill, the number of doors operated in unison by a common operating shaft being four in number.

A portion of a car 9 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 and is provided with a center sill indicated at l8, crossbeams l I, Figures 3 and 4, of the underframe, crossbeam top cover plates I2, side stakes l3, and a car side wall l4 including bottom angle [5. Th floor of the car 9 or the main portion thereof is largely composed of doors [6 which are pivotally mounted adjacent the longitudinal center of the car on suitable hinge butts 11. The crossbeam top cover plates I2 extend along each side edge of the door between the center sill H1 and car side wall I l and are preferably extended to overlap the doors It as shown in Figure 1.

In its preferred form the car 9 includes one door In between each pair of crossbeams H. As shown in Figure 3, each door It is reinforced with depending flanges along its sides, and swing edge as indicated at I8 and 13, respectively, and also by a longitudinally disposed hinge beam 23 and a transverse beam 2| of Z shape extending adjacent to the swinging edge of the door.

The crossbeams ll of the underframe are provided with elongated apertures 22 at their outer ends soas to accommodate a-shaft '23 that extends longitudinally of the car 9andunder four of the doors l6 when they are closed and is supported by elongated bearing castings 24 which have elongated apertures registering with the apertures 22. The bearing castings fl i are riveted or otherwise secured tothe .crossbeams :lzl. The aperture in elongatedtbearing casting -24 is formed with a substantially straight bearing portion 25 and a depressed seatportion 26, the latter being disposed in theouter-end of the "aperture 22 and beyond the swinging edge oftthe door l6.

Intermediate the crossbeams H, the shaft 23 is provided with a'plurality of winding sheaves '21, Figure 2, fixedly mounted thereon. Each sheave 2 1 is formed with a spiral guideway28 and includes at one end a serrated wheel29and at the opposite end an outstanding integrally formed bracket 36 having apertures 36, Figure :4, for receiving a chain connecting pin to be described. In alignment with each serrated wheel 23, there is disposed on each door It two brackets 32, Figure '7, each having a curved nose 33 projecting slightly beyond the outer end of the door 15. The nose 33 of the brackets isformed on its underside with serrated surface 34, Figures 5, 6, 7 and 9, which is adapted to engage with the corresponding serrated wheel 29 when the shaft 23 moves toward the doors H5. The brackets 32, Figure 5, are disposedintermediate the frontflange iii of each door it and the Z shaped beam 2i thereon and arepreferably secured in place by welding.

Adjacent each serrated surface 34-andspaced therefrom lengthwise of the shaft 23 there is provided a housing section, Figure '7, including a pair ofspaced walls 3535 and anupper-connecting wall 35 which underlies the door structure. The walls 35-35 are apertured at 31 through which a pintle 38 extends. Pivotally mounted on the pintle 33 is a terminal link,

shown generally at 39 inlFigures and 11,

which is disposed between the pair of walls 35-35. The link 39 isformed in two sections including an eyebolt iil havinga threaded shank ii which is received in a tapped clevis section-42. The clevis'sectionis, preferably formed of a com- 'mercial nut 43 sandwiched between a pair of fiat platesections-M-M and united thereto'by welding as indicated at 45.

The link 39 is adapted to'have limited pivotal movement about the'axis of pintle 38 to the extent of being swingable to allow the positioning of the axis of the eyebolt M) either onthe pitch line 46, Figure 6, of the serrated surface 34 of the bracket 32 or on the pitch line 47 of the serrated wheel 29. The link 39 is limited in its upward movement by an abutment'AB, Figure 8, formed on the underside-of the bracket 32 and downward swinging movement thereof is limited by contact between rearward extension of the plate sections 44 contacting the under side ofthe upper wall 35 of the bracket 32. Theplate sections 4424 are adequately braced against lateral displacement by vertically disposed ribs 49, Figure '7, which, in combination with the main side walls 35-35, form recesses within which each individual plate section 44 is received and guided.

An inextensible flexible connection 50 in the form of a chain extends between each eyebolt 40 and the corresponding winding sheave 27 being connected to the bracket 30 of the latter by a pin 5| extending through the apertures 3|. There aretwo connections torchains 501for each door 16.

In the operation of the mechanism, the flexible connections 50 wind around the spiral guideways 28 during the lifting of the doors I5 and, until such 'time as the serrated surface of each wheel 29 on the'shaft 23 moves into contact with 'the corresponding serrated surface 34 of the nose 330f the corresponding bracket 32, the shaft 23 rotates in the depressed seat 23 of each of the bearing castings 24. When the teeth of the wheels29 contact the surfaces 34 of the brackets 32, the shaft 23 moves'inwardly as permitted by the elongated apertures 22 to a supporting position beneath the doors l6 and the outerendof .each of the links .39, as represented by the .eye-

'causingthe end adjacentthe head52 to move in advance of the opposite end. It will be understood that upon the assembly of the winding sheaves-2l .on theshaft 33, they are-applied in alignment'with all'of the connections orchains 53 of equallength. Figure 5 indicates the position of oneof-the serrated Wheels 29 inrelation to the corresponding serrated nose 33 of its door bracket 32 as contact is established therebetween. -In the operation-of the shaft 23 it is desirable that this-bearing relation between the shaft 23and the doors l6 be uniform throughout the-entire length of'the shaft 23 in order that the teeth on each wheel -29 properly engage with the'corresponding teeth 34 of the bracket 22 individual thereto onthe doors I6. As a torsional twist develops in the shaft 23, the end of the latter remote from the operating end lags by'the angular variation indicated at 53 in Figure 9. Because-of this angularvariation, the teeth on .many-of the wheels. 29 will not mesh fully with the-teeth forming Ithesurface 34. 'It is sucha 'condition'which my: improved construction corrects by having gprovision for individually ad- .justing theilengthiof each of the links 39 and thereby the lengths of the connections or chains 50.

When the'shaft 23 is operated initially to close the 'doors I6 simultaneously, the required adjustment of each of the links 39 can be-determined so that the'teeth of each serrated wheel 29 will properly engage the'teeth in the corresponding serrated'surface 34 of its nose33. This shifting of the position of 'the eyebolt 40 to-coinpensate for'a given angular twist. 53 of the shaft 23 is'illustrated'in Figure 9 by full lines and broken lines.

'Since certain further changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of'the invention maybe made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A bracket for mounting along the swinging edge of a dumping door of a railway car for cooperating with a shaft mounted on the car for rotary and translatory movement underneath said swinging edge and having a serrated wheel fast thereon and a chain secured at one end to said shaft for winding thereon, said bracket including a housing opening downwardly, a convex curved nose portion carried by said housing along one side having a serrated surface for meshing with said serrated wheel, a clevis rockably mounted underneath said housing along its other side, and an eyebolt threaded into said clevis for connection to the other end of said chain for adjusting the effective length thereof, said clevis and eyebolt extending generally parallel to said nose portion.

2. A bracket for mounting along the swinging edge of a dumping door of a railway car for cooperating with a shaft mounted on the car for rotary and translatory movement underneath said swinging edge and having a serrated wheel fast thereon and a chain secured at one end to said shaft for winding thereon, said bracket including a housing opening downwardly, a convex curved nose portion carried by said housing along one side having a serrated surface for meshing with said serrated wheel, a clevis rockably mounted underneath said housing along its other side, an eyebolt threaded into said clevis for connection to the other end of said chain for adjusting the effective length thereof, said clevis and eyebolt extending generally parallel to said nose portion, and stop means on the underside of said bracket cooperating with said clevis to limit the upward swinging movement of the eye of said eyebolt to a position substantially along the pitch line of the teeth of said serrated surface.

3. A bracket for mounting along the swinging edge of a dumping door of a railway car for cooperating with a shaft mounted on the car for rotary and translatory movement underneath said swinging edge and having a serrated wheel fast thereon and a chain secured at one end to said shaft for winding thereon, said bracket including a housing opening downwardly, a convex curved nose portion carried by said housing along one side having a serrated surface for meshing with said serrated wheel, a clevis rockab-ly mounted underneath said housing along its other side, an eyebolt threaded into said clevis for connection to the other end of said chain for adjusting the effective length thereof, said clevis and eyebolt extending generally parallel to said nose portion, stop means on the underside of said bracket cooperating with said clevis to limit the upward swinging movement of the eye of said eyebolt to a position substantially along the pitch line of the teeth of said serrated surface, and additional stop means on the underside of said bracket cooperating with said clevis to limit the downward swinging movement of the eye of said eyebolt to a position substantially along the pitch line of the teeth of said serrated wheel when the same engages said serrated surface from underneath and the door is closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 808,750 Hubbard et a1. Jan. 2, 1906 1,244,770 Ostrander Oct. 30, 1917 1,308,422 Hindahl July 1, 1919 1,390,357 Kaup et a1 Sept. 13, 1921 1,635,177 Dorey July 12, 1927 1,705,806 Campbell Mar. 19, 1929 

